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Please excuse this question if it has already been asked and answered. I have been a bit out of the crafting news as of late.
Copic markers have been coming out with new colors each year for the last couple of years. Is there a new release planned for the near future? If so, do you know what colors are expected? I like to work with Copics in groups of threes, and I wonder if they will introduce new colors for some of the markers that only have one or two in a group. (For example: R56 and R59.... there are no other R50 colors, or BG 23 is the only BG color in the BG20s)
Thanks in advance for any information you can provide.
Sometimes there aren't in-between colors because you can do those yourself by putting a layer of an appropriate gray over your color. Many beginners don't go dark enough when creating contrast and shadows and have no idea what to do with all those gray markers. If I'm not using an appropriate gray, I go 12 numbers higher than my lightest color to get that shadow (doesn't work with E family group).
Just for grins, take a photo and then look at it in color, and again in black and white. Notice how dark the shadows really are. The only light areas are a direct path of light. Then try to figure out how dark of a marker, or a gray you would have to use to get that sense of shadow reality in your coloring. So having marker colors only a few number apart isn't really helpful if you are attempting to color with a more natural look instead of a cartoonish look.
Marianne Walker is an incredibly talented artist and a Copic expert. Sometimes she teaches the intermediate Copic classes around the country and she frequently works directly with compamny that makes Copic markers. She has published a couple of books that help explain these unique markers and are full of techniques and explanations. You can also follow her blog with tips and tricks. I Like Markers
Mindykid,
Thanks for the helpful tips. I am a self-taught Copic colorer, and I have never run into your grey information before. I have used my greys to color grey Ok, to be fair, I also use them to color black and sometimes white. I think I know even less than I thought I did about Copics, but I'm going to keep trying to learn.
Will you please clarify the comment about going 12 shades higher than your lightest color. Could you give an example to explain what you mean?
Also, are you suggesting coloring with grey markers over the top of the colors that you put down? So for instance if I was coloring with R02- R08, I would then come back and color with a grey shade over the top of the R08 where I want the darkest shadows? Is that correct?
I love Copics for lots of reasons, but their rich colors and ease of blending are my favorite reasons for using Copics. I hope I am not making things look cartoonish. Yikes! I think I'd better take a second look at some of my coloring. Thanks for all of your help!
Yes, please DO explain gray over colors to make shadows. What are appropriate grays? I know there are warm, cool, and tone. I understand the difference between warm and cool grays, but have no idea what tones are for (black and white/grayscale sketching?). I'll go check out the blog you mentioned. Any other free resources or instructions for us beginner colorists?
There are several gray families with Copic markers. If they start with the letter C - they are for cool colors (blue, green, and things that look metallic). W markers are for warm colors (red, brown, yellow, and orange), N for neutral, and T for toner (a lot like neutral). If you are just starting, I would suggest Ns or Ts until you can afford to have a collection of Cs and Ws.
A natural blending group of colors all share the same number the letter. For example B21, B23, B24, B24, B26, B28, and B29. There is no variation in saturation so they naturally blend well together. To get variations in brightness (or shading), the last number gets darker as the number gets higher. B29 is very dark (it has a lot of gray in it already) compared to B21, which is a lighter blue (almost no gray in it). If you can't afford all the markers, you can get by with B21 and gray markers in the C, N, or T families. Again, the higher the number, the darker the color (meaning the more gray it has). If you can afford colors in the same family make sure the last number jumps 10-12 numbers. For example, you can make an awesome red Santa suit with R21, R29, R59, and RV99. The earth (E) color family doesn't follow these rules but they work well with red (R), blue (B), and green(G).
Try this: First you completely fill in an area with a light blue until it saturates the paper through to the other side. The more layers of your blue, the more solid and dark the color looks. While it's still wet, gently flick in some gray in the areas where there would be natural shadows. I start with a darker gray - like a 7ish-9ish at the point of darkest shadow, then switch to a 5ish-7ish as I flick the marker more toward the lighter area of the image. Then I use a 2ish-3ish to blend that into the blue that I used. While it's all still wet I go over the entire thing with the blue marker once more and then let it dry.
I have to confess that I panic a little at first because it seems so severe a change in light and shadow, but when it dries it looks great! If I need one more little bit of the lightest light, I will gently flick the blender pen in the area of blue where I think the light source would almost fade it out. Go easy on the blender pen and remember it doesn't blend, it repels or pushes the ink away from where it was applied.
Google some copic videos - there are tons of them out there by many talented artists who explain the techniques they are using.
Thank you so very much for a clear and thorough explanation. I know it will take lots of practice. I like your idea of starting with a blue cube and going from there. With no art class background and not much natural talent, I need to learn a different way of seeing. Thanks for your explanations and suggestions.
And thanks, annie*, for asking about shading with gray.
Sometimes there aren't in-between colors because you can do those yourself by putting a layer of an appropriate gray over your color. Many beginners don't go dark enough when creating contrast and shadows and have no idea what to do with all those gray markers. If I'm not using an appropriate gray, I go 12 numbers higher than my lightest color to get that shadow (doesn't work with E family group).
...
Mindykid, it was interesting to read about your approach to shading with grays. I'm glad you explained the concept. It's always helpful to learn about different techniques.
Now you went and did it! I had to go break out the markers (woo hoo!)!!!
Here is an example of blue mixed with a cool gray. The cube is all B16. Then I edged the darkest part with C9, then spread it with C7, and then C5 working towards the lightest part of the cube. There is no gray at the lightest edge of the cube.
The seal on the left started with B00, then B16 at the darkest parts and blended together with B04. I wanted more contrast and shadows so I did him again.
The seal on the right started with B00 all over. Then B16 at the darkest part and blended with B04 (same as before). Then I went over the darkest shadows areas with C7 and then toward the lighter areas with C5. I blended the gray towards the lighter areas with B04 and then covered the whole thing with B00 again.
The little boy in yellow has Y13 and Y17 in his shirt, but it wasn't enough contrast for shadows so I added E25. His skin is E00, E11, and E15, but again not enough contrast so I added E25.
The little girl on top has a shirt with B00, B02, and B04. To make more contrast, I tried B00, B12, and B14 for the shirt on the little girl on the bottom. The little girl on top has skin that is E00 and E11, but it needed more so I added BV00 for shadows. Then I tried her again with E33, E51, and E55 for the little girl on bottom.
There are no grays in these examples but you can see the jump of more than 10 numbers on the color combos from lightest to darkest.
Since we're talking about shading with grays, I thought I'd add a couple of examples from my gallery. I use the Toner Grays to build depth. For this fox, the two legs farthest away were colored with E13 and E15 first and allowed to dry. Then the Toner Grays T3 and T5 were added on top to shade those two legs and drop them back.
I use the same idea on leaves, coloring an entire leaf first, allowing it to dry, and then adding a Toner Gray over it. Examples are two leaves on this bunny and five leaves on this chipmunk.
Since we're talking about shading with grays, I thought I'd add a couple of examples from my gallery. I use the Toner Grays to build depth. For this fox, the two legs farthest away were colored with E13 and E15 first and allowed to dry. Then the Toner Grays T3 and T5 were added on top to shade those two legs and drop them back.
I use the same idea on leaves, coloring an entire leaf first, allowing it to dry, and then adding a Toner Gray over it. Examples are two leaves on this bunny and five leaves on this chipmunk.
To answer your original question, no, Copic does not have plans to release new colors in the near future. We did add 12 new colors (listed in the second post) in 2012.
I hope that helps.
Hugs!
__________________ Colleen Schaan - Education Specialist at Imagination International Inc.,/Copic Marker
Blog - Distinctive Touches;My Copic Books!
I rarely use grays to shade, I was always taught in art class for natural and realistic shadows I should use the complimentary color mixed with the original color. IE: Red shadows would be the darkest red, plus a bit of green blended in with it. Just a little tip in case you don't want to invest in all the grays. Just print yourself out a good color wheel so you can quickly find the complimentary color to the one you're using. It will be the one directly opposite from the one you're using on the color wheel.
The little boy in yellow has Y13 and Y17 in his shirt, but it wasn't enough contrast for shadows so I added E25. His skin is E00, E11, and E15, but again not enough contrast so I added E25.
The little girl on top has a shirt with B00, B02, and B04. To make more contrast, I tried B00, B12, and B14 for the shirt on the little girl on the bottom. The little girl on top has skin that is E00 and E11, but it needed more so I added BV00 for shadows. Then I tried her again with E33, E51, and E55 for the little girl on bottom.
There are no grays in these examples but you can see the jump of more than 10 numbers on the color combos from lightest to darkest.
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Wow, thank you. I would have never thought to use grey but it makes the shadowing look so realistic. Mindykid thank you for the wonderful explanations and pictures. And crafts I will have to check out your pictures more. Thanks to bth for labeling your colors to help us newbies out. Time to break out the pens and start coloring.
Hey there!!! It's so funny - I just sent someone to your blog to read a post about your running. I have been doing 10Ks this year and she just walked her first 5K so we are on a roll!
I can't imagine attempting a half marathon like you did, but that thought is starting to nibble at me.
New Copics this year?
